New Girl on the Bike

We are all used to see Victoria Pendleton climbing up rostrums to collect shinny Medals but training needs Finance!!!!

I think when her manager said you need some more sponsorship to get some 'bread' in she took it too literarly.

here she is climbing Gold Hill, in Shaftesbury, Dorset, UK.

BRINGING HOME THE BREAD and the GONGS.

Well done Vicky we are all routing for You

Cavendish comes home

At last the speculation is over

British cycling star Mark Cavendish has announced he will be joining Team Sky for the start of next season.
Cavendish won the green jersey as the 2011 Tour de France's best sprinter and then added the world road race title.
"I'm confident that we can achieve success and my aim is to win stages and the green jersey at the Tour de France," he told Sky Sports News.
Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford added: "What excites me is the attitude he brings to the teams he rides for."
One of Cavendish's wingmen, Austrian Bernhard Eisel, will also join Team Sky next season.
Cavendish, 26, is rated as one of the greatest-ever sprinters in the sport's history.
He won five stages at this year's Tour de France with HTC-Highroad to take his tally to 20 in total, claiming the prestigious Maillot Vert - awarded to the best sprinter -for the first time in his career.

Then in September, the Isle of Man cyclist became Britain's first male world road race champion for 46 years when his eight-man GB team helped him to victory over the 266km course in Denmark.
Cavendish has also secured a further 10 Grand Tour stage victories in his career, as well as the overall points title at the 2010 Vuelta a Espana.

CAVENDISH'S CAREER
Wins gold in the madison at the track cycling world championships in Los Angeles in March 2005.
Secures Melbourne Commonwealth Games scratch gold medal for the Isle of Man in March 2006.
Takes madison gold in track cycling world championships in Manchester alongside Bradley Wiggins in March 2008.
In July 2008, he wins four stages of the Tour de France but, a month later, fails to win an Olympic medal
Becomes only the second Briton after Robert Millar to win stages in all three grand tours after success on stage 12 of Vuelta a Espana in September 2010.
Awarded MBE in Queen's Birthday Honours in June 2011.
Wins final stage in Paris to make certain of the green jersey at 2011 Tour de France and take total stage victories tally to 20.
In September, he wins gold medal at the Road World Championships.

His future had been subject of speculation since August when HTC-Highroad stated that it would fold at the end of the 2011 season after failing to find a sponsor.
Team Sky's lead rider Bradley Wiggins hailed his compatriot's decision to join the Manchester-based outfit.
"I think I speak for everyone in the squad when I say that we're all delighted to have Cav joining us at Team Sky," he added.
"He is the best sprinter in the world and has an energy and passion for cycling that is infectious. We have enjoyed a fantastic second season and Mark's signing is another statement of our intent for next year and beyond."
Team-mate Geraint Thomas said Cavendish will enjoy a smooth transfer.
"In many ways it's like he's coming home - the team has a number of riders and support staff that he grew up with and it won't take him any time to settle in," said Thomas.
"I think everyone saw that when we helped him to victory for Great Britain at the Worlds, and we are all looking forward to helping him deliver more wins for Team Sky."

Team Sky began competition in January 2010 and is led by Brailsford, who is British Cycling's performance director. Brailsford stated in 2009 that his aim was to have a British winner of the Tour de France by 2014.

The Paleo Diet and cycling

As the nights draw in and my commuter cycling days start to become affected by the weather I finally acknowledge that my 2011 cycling season is over.
It has been an interesting year.
I expect by its end I will have completed 7,000 miles and there have been new PB's for both 'The flat out in the Fens' and 'The Manchester 100 ride'.
The hotter than Hell was completed with the highest recorded temperature in a respectable time and I completed the tough Big G.
All in all I should be happy.........but I am not.
You see this season I have been at my heaviest weight ever so I constantly think 'What if???'
With all that training, and all those Miles - What if I had been lighter?

What if my power weight ratio had been better?

Being 'rotund' I'm sure I present a figure of fun to other cyclists having the appearance of a fat bloke on a bike - rather than cyclist.
I would dearly love to look like and be mistaken as a cyclist.

As I rarely drink alcohol and don't eat too much bad food, I don't get it, why I don't loose weight? I am literally burning tens of thousands of calories each week.

When I was travelling to do the 'Hotter than Hell' a fellow Mule (Kenny) who is the fittest person I have ever known, told me about The Paleo or Caveman diet.

Personally I don't like the word 'Diet' for me it means putting less things in your mouth and I love putting things in my mouth!!! but don't be put off this is not really a diet more of a lifestyle change.

It basically means that you only eat what the cavemen used to eat.

For millions of years as we evolved we ate certain foods which provided us with the nutrition we needed to compliment our lifestyle. As hunters we were fit, agile and strong which enabled us to chase and kill things.

Its only recent times that we changed the way we eat and and now find ourselves getting sick, fat, depressed and out of shape.

It seems that one of my problems was that I was eating too many carbs.

Because I was exercising most days, I had been brain washed to thinking that I needed fuel in the form of carbohydrates. In reality I was saturated with fuel.

It was being stored in every bit of possible space on my body.

Although I was burning some of it each day there was always plenty left so when I did eat bad stuff it was just making me even heavier.

The paleo diet IS a low carb diet but you can still eat lots of fruit and vegetables. You get to gorge on all the good meat, fish, and good fats you want and the variety is plentiful.

The problem with today’s diet which was nowhere to be seen with our ancestors is WAY too much sugar and carbohydrate… They rarely had sugar, fruit was a luxury.

Today? All our food is carbohydrate/sugar based (toasts, sandwiches, pastas, rice, chips..you get my drift?) All these carbohydrates trigger insulin, and too much insulin over time leads to fat gain, inflammation, diabetes and heart conditions.
Going further, the anti-nutrients and irritants from grains and legumes do not digest properly. Neither us nor any mammal has the digestive system to digest all the grains we eat properly. Over time they irritate the gut leading to leaky gut problems, Crohns disease, nutrient malabsorption, contributing to the excess carbohydrate and sugar.

Dairy products from other animals were never consumed by our ancestors, most people after the age of 2 can no longer digest Lactose, one of milks sugars, properly, leading to all kinds of digestive problems. It irritates the guts lining. A lot of people develop problems with Casein, one of the main proteins in milk.

The basics? You eliminate problematic foods: Added sugar, sweets, chocolate, sweeteners, sugary snacks….
Processed foods: pre-packaged foods with additives…
Trans fats and vegetable oils: corn oil, peanut oil, soy oil,
Grains: wheat, oats, barley, corn…
Dairy: Milk, cheese, cream, yoghurt..
Legumes: chick peas, lentils, navy beans, kidney beans, black eyed peas….

You get to eat without restriction or calorie counting
All lean meats and fish.
Fresh fruits/ vegetables
Good fats: olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, flaxseed oil, duck fat, beef fat…
All nuts and seeds.

Ok, doesn’t sound too bad does it? And here’s why it works:
YOU CONTROL YOUR CARB INTAKE AND GET BETTER INSULIN RESPONSE WHICH LEADS TO FAT LOSS WHILE MAINTAINING OR GAINING MUSCLE MASS.
YOU GET PLENTY OF PROTEIN TO BUILD MUSCLES AND NEW CELLS.
YOU GET PLENTY OF GOOD FATS WHICH YOUR BODY LOVES/NEEDS WHEN THE FATS COME FROM GOOD SOURCES.
YOU GET YOUR FULL/BALANCED NUTRIENT REQUIREMENT FROM ALL THE
FOODS.

I have only been doing it for two weeks and have lost 10 lbs and 1" of my waist. Your meant to feel tired for the first few weeks and that is true enough but it seems to be working for me.

I will let you know how its going in the coming months and we will see if there is a cyclist trying to get out.

NEWS

As the Mule movement has increased over the past 18 months we have revamped the website which can now be found by clicking on the box on the right hand column or by the following link www.travelwithmymules.com

Although its not totally finished there is a lot of new features, gallery and information about our cycling team. This blog is also the official blog for the Travels with my Mule Cycling Club.

Honolulu century Ride

As us Anglo Mules hold onto the last rays of Summer before multiple clothing and frostbite take over three of our US Mules have been raising money by completing a Century ride.

Departing Houston they sought a more exotic climate - Hawaii no Less

Here they are wating for the surf to get up.

Well done Taylor, Christian and John, we are all very proud of you for your time commitment and the money you all raised.

Taylor Bartholemew

John Olson

Christain Clark